METALS-Copper slips on profit-taking after winning streak

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Copper dipped on profit taking on Friday as analysts said a 20 percent price surge since June was not justified given China's copper imports had been stable in the past four months.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 1.5 percent to $6,794 a tonne bt 1050 GMT, after finishing flat in the previous session.

Chinese data for August showed imports of copper and copper products holding steady in the world's largest consumer for a fourth month, indicating demand remained robust.

Commerzbank's head of commodities research Eugen Weinberg said prices had risen too far given stable Chinese figures.

"The price is fundamentally unjustified and we remain bearish on copper," he said, after copper prices recorded their longest winning streak since a nine-week rise in 2006.

CHINA COPPER IMPORTS: Chinese imports of unwrought copper totalled 390,000 tonnes in August, customs data showed on Friday. Monthly imports, which include anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished copper products, have been around that level since May.

"In the months ahead there might be a lift in metal imports ... if there is a restriction on smelter production due to environmental inspections," said Daniel Morgan, an analyst at UBS in Sydney. "That would be bullish for copper."

COPPER STOCKS: On-warrant copper inventories in LME-approved warehouses inched higher on Friday, indicating the market was generally well supplied. But stocks have declined by about 26 percent over the last month.

DOLLAR: A weaker dollar underpinned metals gains, preventing further losses, after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said the bank was looking at how to wind down its 60 billion-euro-a-month buying program.

CHINA ALUMINIUM: "China's aluminum exports are the lowest since March which reflects a supply side contraction on the mainland. I would expect number to contract further in the months ahead because we have had some shuts of illegal capacity and there are going to be winter shuts from Nov. 15," UBS analyst Morgan said.

ALUMINIUM: Aluminium fell 0.6 percent to $2,094 per tonne, on track for its first weekly decline in six.

LME REFORM: The LME sought on Thursday to win back trading volumes by proposing a cut in fees for trades crucial to its physical user base as rivals gear up to offer alternatives. For a factbox:

NICKEL SUPPLY: Cuba has begun to shut down its nickel industry in preparation for Hurricane Irma, media reports said on Thursday. Cuba plans to produce 54,500 tonnes of nickel and cobalt sulfides this year.